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The Dallas metroplex is one of only six U.S. markets to score An Animated World: Celebrating Five Years of GKids Classics. Angelika Dallas and Angelika Plano will screen the eight-week series, which features The Secret of Kells, A Cat in Paris and Ernest & Celestine, all nominated for Academy Awards, along with Tales of the Night, Eleanor’s Secret, Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbor Totoro and Nocturna and a selection of short films showcased at the New York International Children’s Film Festival. The series kicks off Saturday, July 12.

Meanwhile GKids, a New York-based distributor of animated and youth-oriented cinema, continues to be a force to watch. Their upcoming releases include Wrinkles, featuring Martin Sheen; A Letter To Momo from Japan’s Production I.G; Isao Tahakata’s The Tale of The Princess Kaguya; and Song of the Sea from Tomm Moore, director of The Secret of Kells.

The films of An Animated World will be screened at both Angelika Dallas and Angelika Plano Saturdays and Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m. and Thursdays at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased at AngelikaFilmCenter.com or the box office.

The toughest ticket may be The Secret World of Arrietty, a Studio Ghibli film adaptation of The Borrowers opening Feb. 17, but this weekend’s 28th Annual KidFilm Festival is overflowing with treasures from the vault of the famed Japanese studio, from Kiki’s Delivery Service (a personal favorite) to the Academy Award-winning Spirited Away.

There will be one non-Ghibli program for the kids and it’s free — preview footage of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax and a salute to and chance to meet and get a free book by children’s book author and illustrator Peter Brown. And for those who miss The Secret World of Arrietty or are obsessed with seeing it again, you don’t actually have to wait until Disney gives it its big American release Feb. 17. Sam Wade, owner of Premiere Video just emailed me to let me know that Arrietty is available to rent on Blu-ray as well as on standard definition DVD. You can get the details in my KidFilm story here.

PHOTO: Kiki’s Delivery Service will be screened at the Angelika Film Center as part of USA Film Festival’s 28th annual KidFilm Festival.

You may have seen at least a movie or two from acclaimed animation house Studio Ghibli. The studio is sometimes referred to in America as “Japan’s Disney,” and they’ve released critically acclaimed films such as Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke and the Academy Award winning Spirited Away. I worried that their first video game, Ni no Kuni (developed in collaboration with acclaimed Japanese developer Level-5), would never see the light of day outside of Japan. Thankfully, my friends at GameSpot have confirmed that the PlayStation 3 version of the game is headed to North America early next year.

I don’t even know all that much about the gameplay (though it’s definitely an RPG). I’m entranced enough by the absolutely gorgeous animation, which really looks like you’re playing an interactive Studio Ghibli film. You can check out a Japanese trailer for the game below to see this for yourself. I’m personally very excited to try the game out for myself early 2012.